The best new TV shows in October 2025

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Film Club

Tue 7 Oct

BBC Three

Two of the UK’s most exciting voices offer us a piercingly funny and heart-warming romantic comedy. Evie is a young woman who hasn’t left the house for six months after her “wobble”. To combat her increasing isolation, every Friday night she holds a film club. This is a chance to find a little bit of escape, and create worlds of wonder in the garage. Noa is her best friend, and one of the few people who still turn up for the lavish movie nights.

Starring Aimee Lou Wood, Nabhaan Rizwan, and TV favourite Suranne Jones, this is a witty and emotional show about love and family, asking if we should follow our hearts or be ruled by our heads…

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The Last Frontier

Fri 10 Oct

Apple TV+

A lone US Marshal jurisdiction is turned upside-down when a prison transport plane crashes in the remote wilderness. From the creator of The Blacklist, this expansive thriller follows Frank Remnick (Jason Clarke), who is the sole guardian of a quiet, barren corner of Alaska.  

His jurisdiction is unexpectedly turned upside down when a prison transport plane crashes in the remote wilderness, setting free dozens of violent inmates. Tasked with protecting the community he vowed to serve, he begins to suspect the crash wasn’t an accident. The evidence suggests this is just the first step in a well-crafted plan with far-reaching and devastating implications.

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Revival

Sun 12 Oct

Sky Max

A series based on the hugely popular comic book of the same name, this new Sky original revolves around a mysterious force suddenly raising the dead. What starts as a normal day in rural Wisconsin soon turns both miraculous and terrifying, as the dead rise from the grave. Instead of running rampant, feeding on living flesh and scaring the locals, they just get on with their lives as if nothing unusual had happened.

Against this strange backdrop, local police officer Dana Cypress is assigned to a murder case with a difference. Bizarrely, the victim is now inexplicably alive, which drags the investigators into a town-wide mystery that blurs the line between life and death, science and the supernatural.

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Riot Women

Sun 12 Oct

BBC One

Sally Wainwright (Happy Valley and Last Tango in Halifax) returns with another uplifting and touching drama. Picturesque Hebden Bridge is the setting for five ladies of a certain age to form a punk‑rock band. What begins as a whimsical distraction and device to enter a talent contest, soon evolves into an outlet for their simmering feelings.

Starring Joanna Scanlan, Rosalie Craig, Tamsin Greig, Lorraine Ashbourne, and Amelia Bullmore, it sees the hard-rocking quartet juggling the demands of grown-up children, jobs, and distant partners.  But… amongst the fury, guitar riffs, and reclaimed visibility, is a secret that threatens to tear them apart before they’ve really got started. Featuring original music by Brighton queer punk legends, ARXX, the show stands as a testament to friendship, resilience, and the power of being heard when the world expects you to stay in your lane.

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NCIS: Origins

Wed 15 Oct

Paramount+

The long-running procedural drama NCIS has started looking backwards. This globe-trotting franchise goes back to the early investigative days of Mark Harmon’s character, Gibbs. Set in the early 90s, the prequel charts the early years at the Naval Criminal Investigative Service’s Camp Pendleton office for our taciturn hero.

Season two sees the cast, which includes Kyle Schmid, Mariel Molino, Diany Rodriguez, Tyla Abercrumbie, and Caleb Foote, continue their fight to protect the nation. There are murders, espionage threats, and missing persons, together with the challenges of personal loss, grief, and the search for recognition. There’s still plenty of running and kicking down doors, only with some hilarious period fashion choices, as justice comes to all.

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The Diplomat

Thu 16 Oct

Netflix

It’s season three of this gripping and faintly ludicrous political drama. Keri Russell started the show as the United States’ Ambassador to the United Kingdom, but that all looks set to change.

Kate Wyler is living the particular nightmare that is getting what you want. She just accused Vice President Grace Penn (Allison Janney) of hatching a terrorist plot and admitted she’s after the VP’s job. But now the President is dead, Kate’s husband Hal (Rufus Sewell) may have inadvertently killed him, and Grace Penn is now the leader of the free world. None of this slows Hal’s campaign to land Kate the vice presidency. Kate steps into a role she never wanted, with a freedom she never expected, an increasingly complicated friendship with Foreign Secretary Austin Dennison (David Gyasi),. To make things even better, Janney’s old sparring partner from The West Wing, Bradley Whitford, comes into this show as the new First Gentleman, Todd Penn. Everything is looking up.

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The Iris Affair

Thu 16 Oct

Sky Showcase

From Luther creator Neil Cross comes an eight-part thriller that blends cryptic puzzles, beautiful landscapes, and a suffocating chase. At the centre of an enigma stands Iris Nixon (Niamh Algar), a prodigiously gifted code‑breaker who unravels a series of online puzzles. Her gift leads her to Florence, where she meets the magnetic entrepreneur Cameron Beck (Tom Hollander).  

He proposes they collaborate on accessing a powerful new technology, but the circumstances quickly get out of hand. Soon she finds herself on the run, in a succession of close escapes and mysteries that take us across the world. A skilful blend of sun‑lit glamour and nail-biting tension, terrifying power structures begin to reveal themselves in this tightly coiled thriller. Some questions should not be asked and some doors should be left closed.

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The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon

Fri 24 Oct

Sky Max

Sitting comfortably? Soon, you won't be. It’s season three for this instalment in the Walking Dead universe. Fan favourites Daryl and Carol have been reunited in zombie-ravaged France, but now it’s time for their most ambitious adventure yet.  

Starring Norman Reedus and Melissa McBride as a pair of battle-hardened survivors, the action shifts to England. Strangely, the undead nightmare has improved the British Isles. (Only joking!) After some typical chaos, a storm and a shipwreck set them adrift just off the coast of Spain. Now, this isn’t just a story of surviving on the journey; it’s about the lessons we take with us.  

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Star Wars: Visions

Wed 29 Oct

Disney+

A third helping of nine animated shorts, each crafted by a different anime studio, whips up another compelling blend of the familiar and unexpected. While many of the stories feature new characters and settings, we are being treated to a few revisits to fan-favourite tales. There are sequels to The Duel, we catch up with the feisty F, and learn more about Kara’s odyssey.

This is a well-tested landscape, reimagined with experimental visuals, playful lighting, and surreal meditations on the Force. With production values unhindered by the shackles of live-action and tradition, this is the next chapter in one of Western civilisation’s biggest intellectual properties.

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The Witcher

Thu 30 Oct

Netflix

This lavish drama series is based upon the globally popular fantasy saga from Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, which also spawned some immensely popular video games.

After the Continent-altering events of last season, Geralt (a monster-hunter with supernatural abilities), Yennefer (a powerful sorceress), and Ciri (the sole princess of Cintra) find themselves separated by a raging war and countless enemies. As their paths diverge and their goals sharpen, they stumble on unexpected allies eager to join their journeys. And if they can accept these found families, they just might have a chance at reuniting for good…

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